African Short Stories
by Chinua Achebe (Editor), Catherine Lynette Innes (Editor)
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A collection of stories by African writers which deal with life and customs in African society.Tags
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Twenty short stories are presented: six from West Africa, five from East Africa, three from northern Africa, and seven from southern Africa. Most I considered quite good, some I liked very much, and a few I barely understood at all. In my opinion, the most profound theme was the juxtaposition of traditions with the modern way of life, best exemplified in the Bessie Head story, "Snapshots of a Wedding." The people, not having any other way and newly inundated with Westernized modern life, continue with traditions and ceremonies that mean less and less in the modern world.
I enjoyed the variety of stories from this book. Need to read more books to get a better idea of styles as there seemed such a diversity in styles by region.
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Author Information
Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born on November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria. He studied English, history and theology at University College in Ibadan from 1948 to 1953. After receiving a second-class degree, he taught for a while before joining the Nigeria Broadcasting Service in 1954. He was working as a broadcaster when he wrote his first two show more novels, and then quit working to devote himself to writing full time. Unfortunately his literary career was cut short by the Nigerian Civil War. During this time he supported the ill-fated Biafrian cause and served abroad as a diplomat. He and his family narrowly escaped assassination. After the civil war, he abandoned fiction for a period in favor of essays, short stories, and poetry. His works include Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, No Longer at Ease, A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah, and There Was a Country. He also wrote four children's books including Chike and the River and How the Leopard Got His Claws. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize for his "overall contribution to fiction on the world stage." He also worked as a professor of literature in Nigeria and the United States. He died following a brief illness on March 21, 2013 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- African Short Stories
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Statistics
- Members
- 160
- Popularity
- 205,138
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- Dutch, English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
